Goals are wonderful, and let no-one take them from you. However, do use their input to filter out what may or may not be reasonable and or achievable for you.
I have a 12 year old who shot an elk at 350 yards with a .308, something a lot of people will say can't be done, but we are eating the meat.
I will just ditto KraigWY's post as he knows what it takes and spelled it out pretty well. But, technique IS important once you push past a few hundred yards. If you learn wrong...it is hard to undo. So, have you been to Appleseed yet? If not, it is worth the investment!
After Appleseed, try to get to a local match of some sort and talk to guys who are actually doing the deed. Peacekeeper is one place where you might find a match or two and get some hands on maybe. One of the goals should be to find a local guy who is willing to mentor you a bit. It is okay to let some mentor bias in equipment creep in, so long as it is still with mainline brands of rifles and optics. Like I shoot Remingtons and Burris, but if the guy you find shoots Savage and Vortex, perfectly fine.
Bolts and autos are different, and there are an even smaller number of guys who have mastered both, so keep that in your mind as you search.
.22LRs are good trainers and may be worth a look. Many of the top competitive LR precision guys have .22LR trainers and practice on them a lot. Also, dry-fire works for precision too, so do it.
While I own some of the higher priced rigs, a simple .308 bolt gun (Tikka, Savage or 700) in a good stock with decent glass can get you to 1000 no problem. The size of the targets might need to be a bit larger, but you should be able to hit 18" to 24" targets at 1000 yards on a budget of $1500 or so into the rig. This has been proven time and time again. Some guys have tried at $1K, but that is pushing the envelope a bit IMHO. 600 yards for $600 rig...sure. But it is the next 400 that are difficult in terms of skill and equipment.